I can’t actually believe that there is a game that has this rape aspect in it. I have always played and enjoyed the violent video games like Grand Theft Auto or The Godfather. I used to play them all the time. The violent thoughts never passed through my head and I never took the game any more seriously than the game that it actually is. But, I can understand how people who aren’t mentally stable can get caught up with the game and not be able to define the differences between real life and the video game. People who play these games all the time can get caught up what is the difference between reality and the video games and that’s when it becomes a problem or threat. Personally, I went into playing all violent games knowing that it is just a game and there are no learning tools that can be used in those games. But unfortunately not everyone has that mentality when playing these violent and unrealistic games.
What surprises me even further is that this is a whole genre of video games in Japan. And it is not only just a genre, but a popular genre among the Japanese to say the least. I completely believe that these games would never become popular or even be mass produced in the United States. But regardless it is still sad that video games like these disturbing ones exist. Also, it is unbelievable how accessible these games are all over the internet. Like the video showed, it was possible to play these games via youtube and many other sites, which not only allows so many people to access these games regularly but it can’t screen who is playing them, so for all we know kids could be playing games like this. It is already bad enough that young kids play the violent games like Grand Theft Auto or The Godfather, but now that they easily have access to pornographic games on very accessible websites, it makes the problem of playing video games even worse. The video couldn’t even show the worst parts of the video game, which only lets the imagination wonder how bad these games get. Also, after looking into the background of these games, I saw that they make up 85% of Japan’s video game revenue. I find that completely outrageous. It’s not really the fact that there are pornographic video games that bother me. What bothers me is that these games have rape in them and that they are so accessible online. It honestly is so disappointing that these rape games are so popular and anyone can use them virtually anywhere. Hopefully like the video said, Japan will further look into these games and the legality of producing them.

Looking at the pictures from the L.L. Bean magazine, it is almost humorous how they portray both the white and the African American families. They both represent the epitome of the upper-class, preppy families to the extreme. Although these pictures are funny in general, I think that it is absurd to think that it is an insult or absurd for black people to be dressed that way. Frankly, I’m a little pissed off that the same people who are trying to teach equality are telling us that this is ridiculous. There are plenty of middle and upper class black people who look like this. Not all white people look and dress like the white family in the picture, but no one commented on how preppy and ridiculous they look. Are we all supposed to fit a stereotype and that is the only way we are allowed to look? Are black people only allowed to be portrayed in “black” clothing? Most black people don’t look like Lil’ Wayne, but that is a more “accepted” view of black people than the L.L. Bean magazine. We’re trying to teach equality and to overcome stereotypes, but for L.L. Bean, this is their stereotypes! This is what most of their customers look like, so of coarse, that is who they are going to advertise to! There are many middle and upper class black people who look like this! I know some of them! But this is considered “whitewashed”? Am I whitewashed for wearing an L.L. Bean shirt? Black people who wear L.L. Bean aren’t necessarily “whitewashed” or trying to act white, that is just how they are. They are a product of where they live and where they have grown up. I’m Jewish and follow so many of my Jewish and Israeli traditions and customs, but I don’t let it constrict what I wear or what I do or where I shop. If we want equality judging people by what they look like has to stop. It doesn’t matter if they look like the white family in the magazine, the black family, or even Lil’ Wayne, they shouldn’t be judged by what they wear or look like. Not everyone has to be, act, or look a certain way. There are no laws or social norms that state that things have to be that way. And on the same note, people shouldn’t be judged for wearing L.L. Bean whether they are black or white. Of coarse the black family is going to be dressed that way, because that is the target audience they are looking for. It’s not racist on their part. People may think that the preppy L.L. Bean style is funny looking, but they should be ashamed if they judge any person, whether black or white, due to how they look or dress.

It really truly is a shame, because in theory the Tea Party is a great organization (regardless of political viewpoint). An organization that holds peoples constitutional rights at a high point and defends the constitutional rights of the American people. The problem with the organization as it is now, is that they have become a racist hate driven group that has just been anti-Obama at any expense.
Two weeks ago when the vote about health care was in congress, I had the opportunity to be in Washington, DC and to be on the Capitol lawn with all the people who were either supporting or protesting the bill. Because of personal reasons I was with those opposed to the bill. At first it was a civil protest with many supporters, and at one point, even a few congressman and women came out to talk to and thank the protesters for their support. Everything was going smoothly until a member from the group that was for the bill came in and ruined some of the signs that us protesters had. At that point the members of the Tea Party that were protesting with us went wild and just began shouting racist remarks and within a few minutes, the Tea Party almost started a riot against these people who ruined a couple signs. At that point many of us starting distancing ourselves from the Tea Party members. It was so disappointing to see a group that means well turn into an angry racist mob. And in today’s society it where the Tea Party is seen as an evil group, its hard to associate yourself with a group or the actions of a group if they do such hateful things. But like Sam has kind of pointed out, theoretically, the Tea Party is a great organization, which fights for the constitution and fights against the government having too much power no matter who is in power. The problem is, is that they aren’t doing the things that they are supposed to do.
To see the Tea Party basically threaten politicians and offend many different types of race is appalling and disappointing. Frankly, its just lame that they have resorted to these very hateful ways when they could have so much power just doing what they are supposed to do. In times like these when most of America is disappointed with its government and the way it is being run now (or for the last 20 years for that matter), the Tea Party could have so much power and so many followers if it weren’t for its hateful and racist members that have stopped the positive progress of what the Tea Party actually believes in.

I can’t necessarily say I am surprised that there are problems with people still accepting LGBT students in school, but to talk about cancelling a prom because they don’t want a lesbian couple to attend is absurd. As America has grown greatly over the years in both race relations and LGBT issues, it is still a subject that sensitive to many people. I do believe that one-day people will accept all different people of races and all LGBT people, but it is something that takes time. Fifteen years ago, this issue of not letting a lesbian couple attend prom would be a more accepted ruling, but in the year 2010 I think it is so ridiculous that people are getting so offended that they want to cancel prom. The parents who are so offended should not have a say in their child’s prom on issues such as this. These are 17 and 18 year old teenagers who should be allowed to make their own opinions. We are in a time where younger people are breaking the norms and becoming more accepting of all people no matter what creed, race, or sexual orientation. It is good to see the father of one of the girls supporting them, but it really just is disappointing that there are just so many people outraged. What is the most absurd part of this whole article is the fact that the school board considered this whole thing as a “distraction to the educational process” of the school. The implications of the parent’s response on the community is far more unsettling than any other aspect of this issue. The children of the school that were mentioned in the article have mixed responses, which is not unsurprising as they are being educated in the atmospheres that their parents provide. If their parents are unwilling to accept the presence of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals their children would be hard pressed to make such a leap. The debate can then be redirected to a nature vs. nurture discussion. Obviously, I feel that individuals should be open to all with out unwarranted discrimination. I have learned these values from a sound upbringing from open-minded parents, typical of a northeast values. The solution lies with the student’s parents. If they simply sent out a petition for the parents to sign that explains their distaste for the school’s decision, hopes for having the prom could be restored. If the parents took unilateral action to discuss the issue with their children, or ask the school to make advisors available for students confused and or upset over the issue. However, to take action against the entire student body for the actions of two students, who in my opinion did I nothing wrong, is not the appropriate course of action.

First off, I think this is a great question to ask, and I think it is very pertinent to what we were talking about in class. I think that lesbians are more accepted in America because women are more open and comfortable about their sexuality. For instance at a party or something, girls will go to the bathroom together. This is something that baffles men and is something we may never understand. Although straight men may shower together in a communal shower, it is still not something we are completely comfortable with nor do we want to take a step forward to share a bathroom. Women have no problem changing in front of each other, and in my opinion, I think women do as many things as they can do to show their comfortableness with their sexuality. You will never see a guy get naked in front of his friends, and everyone just nonchalantly goes on with what they were doing. So I think that women are more comfortable with lesbianism because they are comfortable with their sexuality. Men on the other hand are engulfed by the thought of two hot girls hooking up, so they accept lesbianism and lesbian acts a lot more than they would gay men.
I do believe that homosexuality is a subject that is a bigger deal than it is in many other countries. I think in a lot of the European countries, the tables are turned about genders and their comfortableness with their sexuality. For instance, every time I go to Israel, I notice that men are a lot more comfortable with their sexuality than women are. Women would never go to a bathroom together (although men wouldn’t either), and men are a lot more comfortable with seeing other men with little or no clothing. Also, when men greet each other, even if they are not really friends, they greet with a kiss on each cheek. In America, unless it is a relative, you will rarely ever see two straight men greet each other with kisses on the cheek. I think in other countries, people have become so comfortable with their sexuality that homosexuality in general is more accepted in other countries than it is in America. Lesbianism is something that I feel is less frequent in other countries than it is in America, but it is accepted just as much as gay men are.

As the American society fixes the racial differences that stands within it, and becomes more and more politically correct, it leaves behind many words, descriptions, and phrases that were not only acceptable, but once popular. Though most of us believe that removing words like “negro” as a description for Blacks, or deciding whether being Hispanic is a race or an ethnicity is a morally right decisions, I believe this makes it no easier to identify yourself. Of coarse, as a society, it is important that we move forward towards better racial relationships, and stop using words that are now seen as derogatory. But, as this happens, we need new words or descriptions that are more accurate as descriptions for different races or ethnicities. For instance, if you are black, but your family has been in America for hundreds of years, are you still an African-American? And what kind of descriptions is Afro-American? To me, calling a black person “Afro”-American is just as derogatory as calling them a Negro. Yes, Negro is a demeaning word, but I see no sense in describing a whole peoples after a the stereotype for their hair. That would be like calling an Asian person a Slanty-eyed-American, it just isn’t correct.
My biggest problem in this whole dilemma, is that I am unsure of what to consider myself. I refuse to call myself a Caucasian, because technically, a Caucasian is anyone with traits of people from Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, West Asia, Central Asia, or South Asia. That means that although a dark skinned man from North Africa and a pale, freckled, red-headed man from Ireland are about as similar as an apple to an orange, they still fall under the same race. My family is Moroccan-Israeli, but because Caucasian is a silly excuse for a generalization of race, I don’t consider either of those countries as Caucasian countries. So how could we categorize it better? Well I won’t call myself white, because when people from North Africa and the Middle East are out of this dreary-weathered environment, it is clear to see that “white” would not describe our skin color. In fact, during the summer I often am mistaken for being of Latino decent. Middle Eastern? No, because that is usually used to describe people of Arabic or Persian decent. North Africans, and people from the horn of Africa are far different looking than someone from Nigeria or Kenya, so putting them in the same category would be completely wrong. So when the upcoming census comes to my door, how should I answer without feeling misrepresented? Well unless between now and then we invent some better descriptive words, I guess I’m shit out of luck.

Yoni Oettinger

In the wake of the crisis in Haiti, it is just simply impossible to fathom just how bad the situation is in Haiti. Like the blogger Laurie Mulvey quoted from her friend, “No aid can compare to the magnitude of what happened [there]. Although many of us have donated money (and many of us know that most college kids don’t have money bursting out of their wallets, which says a lot about our efforts to help the people of Haiti) and put our thoughts toward both the country of Haiti itself and the Haitian people, there is still only so much we can do, and that is the most disappointing part of the whole situation. No matter how much money is raised, and no matter how much food and clothes are collected, it still can not make up for the losses that have already occurred. It truly is the greatest natural disaster and travesty to affect the modern world. Though our hearts, tears, thoughts, money, supplies, are all invested in the Haitian country and people, all of us can still never comprehend exactly how bad the situation is. It is one of those situations that no matter how much we research about it and no matter how much it is covered in the news, no one can truly understand what has happened unless they witness the destruction and desperation that has plagued the tiny country of Haiti. Thankfully, most of us have never encountered first hand a devastating situation like this and hopefully none of us will ever have to personally live through a travesty like this, but the fact is, is that there are people all over the world living like this and there is only so much we can do. This is not an effort to try and get people to put more of themselves into others, but an effort for people to just realize exactly how messed up the world is, and how lucky we are to live in a safe and prosperous country that many of us take for granted. And it truly is daunting that this is neither the first nor last major disaster that the world will see. Although the Haitian people need the help of the world now, it is only time before another poverty stricken country needs the help of the world. As Dave Mathews says in his song Funny the Way It Is , “Funny the way it is, its not right or wrong,” that’s how I think about situations like this. There are so many helpless people in the world and so many tragedies like this all around the world and we just go on everyday living our lives, it’s not right or wrong, its just the way it is. Hopefully we can help ourselves by not taking for granted how privileged we are to live where we do and how we do.